What, no guest beers?
That’s right, the Blue Bell does not sell “guests”. The correct description, as the Good Beer Guide says, is “beer range varies”. People ask, “What’s the criteria for your beer selection?” The answer is that anything brewed by the big producers won’t be on sale (we won’t name names), but anything brewed by the micros and smaller brewers may be. No smoothflow, creamflow, or keg - those words are banned in the “Bell”!
A balance of beers is available; a session bitter 3.9% or lower, (quite often Castle Rock Harvest Pale or Whim Arbor Light), a dark beer (mild, porter or stout) on the “black pump”, and four others 4% and over. A mix hopefully of light and dark bitters and various tastes and flavours to cater for all, a good geographical spread, and no more than 2 beers from any one brewery.
The beers are supplied both directly from the breweries and via wholesalers. New beers and breweries are eagerly sought.
Continental Beers
There are no British-brewed “lagers” on sale at the Blue Bell, instead we have the real thing, currently German Flensburger Pils at 4% and the Belgian Sparta Pils at 5%. We also have a “guest” continental draught beer - favourites have included De Koninck Antoon, Floreffe Blonde, and Blanche de Bruxelles. We sell around 35 different bottled beers predominantly from Belgium, but also a few from Germany and the Czech Republic.
Click here to see the full list.
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Cider
We usually have two traditional draught ciders on sale, or occasionally a cider and a perry. Available all year round are Thatchers Katy (7.4%), and Frome Valley Dry (6%), both in 500ml bottles.
So be different, be adventurous,
try the world of beer at Kidsgrove’s Beer Emporium
The Blue Bell
Which beer have you most enjoyed drinking at the Blue Bell? Is there a beer you’d like to see on the bar?
Visit our Guestbook to let us know!
